Establish solid performance indicators for APPs

As the number of advanced practice professionals (APP) continues to explode, MSPs see more variation in how supervising physicians utilize APPs. One physician assistant (PA) may hold privileges to perform certain procedures while another PA may not. It is difficult to create metrics when there is not one scope of practice, says Teresa P. Sappington, FACHE, FAAPM, CJCP, MCPPM, CPHQ, CPMSM, a consultant with expertise in medical staff affairs and healthcare regulatory compliance.

Consider the following tip for developing performance data indicators:

Align APP and supervising physician indicators. In most states, the privileges for APPs and their supervising physicians must align to ensure sponsoring physician oversight of the APP’s practice. Because the APP has privileges that allow him or her to support the supervising physician, MSPs and medical staff leaders should consider comparable indicators for APPs and their sponsoring physicians, Sappington says. “More APPs are specializing in the same practice areas as their physician supervisors. For a urological PA sponsored by a urological surgeon, you should use comparable indicators the urological department has determined as most relevant to determine competency for the APP in support of the surgeon."